This invention relates primarily to live casino table games and electronic video poker games, and more particularly to live casino table games and electronic video draw poker games that are based on three card poker hand rankings and which utilize community cards as replacement cards for cards discarded by the players.
There has been a recent interest in three card poker games because these games can be played quickly and the player strategy is straightforward and much less complicated than the strategy required to play five card draw poker.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774 discloses a game known as Three Card Poker. A player makes a first wager (the ANTE wager) to play against a dealer""s hand and or the player makes a second wager (the PAIRPLUS wager) to play the hand value of the player""s cards or the player makes both wagers. Using a single deck of playing cards, a three card hand is dealt to the player and a three card hand is dealt to the dealer. With regard to the ANTE wager, the player now must bet (the PLAY wager) or fold. If the player folds, he loses his ANTE wager. If the player bets, he plays his three card hand against the dealer""s hand. If the dealer""s hand does not qualify (lower than Queen High), player wins 1-to-1 odds on the ANTE wager and pushes on the PLAY wager. If the dealer qualifies by having a Queen High or better hand and if the player""s hand beats the dealer""s hand, player wins 1-to-1 odds on both the ANTE wager and on the PLAY wager. If the player""s hand and the dealer""s hand tie, the ANTE and the PLAY wager are a push and returned to the player.
As to the PAIRPLUS wager, only the player""s hand is used and the player wins if the player has a Pair (1-to-1 odds), a Flush (4-to-1 odds), a Straight (6-to-1 odds), a Three-of a-Kind (30-to-1 odds) or a Straight Flush (40-to-1 odds). When playing Three Card Poker, the player may make the PAIRPLUS wager without making the ANTE or PLAY wager.
One of the drawbacks to this game is that the player must play only the three cards that he receives on the deal. If the player is dealt bad cards, the player has no chance of improving his hand during the course of play.
Another three card poker game is MULTI DECK THREE CARD POKER(trademark). This game is played as an electronic video poker game in which the player makes three wagers and is dealt a three card hand. The player selects none, one or more of the three cards that have initially been dealt and each selected card is duplicated or re-used in two other hands. The unselected cards, if any, are discarded and replacement cards are dealt to each hand so that the player has three final three card hands. Winning and losing outcomes are determined based on a pay table and the amount wagered by the player.
The drawback to this game is that the player must make three wagers to be able to play all three hands. This game is also difficult to adapt to live casino table play since the selected cards must be re-used in each of the three hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,101 discloses a five card draw poker game in which the replacement cards are provided from particular preselected card locations. As shown in FIG. 1 of this patent, the potential replacement cards are arranged in three horizontal rows formed in a triangular outline with one card in the bottom row, two cards in the center row and three cards in the top row. The player makes a wager and is dealt an initial hand of five cards. The player may discard and draw from zero to five replacement cards. If the player discards and draws one card, the one replacement card is the single card in the bottom row. If the player discards and draws two cards, the two replacement cards are the two cards in the center row. If the player discards and draws three cards, the three replacement cards are the three cards in the top row. If the player discards and draws four cards, the four replacement cards are the one card in the bottom row and the three cards in the bottom row. Finally, if the player discards and draws all five cards, the five replacement cards are the two cards in the center row and the three cards in the top row. The poker hand ranking of the final five cards is determined and the player much have achieved one of the predetermined poker hand rankings in order to have a winning hand. The payout for a winning hand is based on a pay table and the amount of the player""s wager.
The drawback to this game is that it plays slowly since each player at the table must receive five cards and determine which cards to hold and discard. The dealer must arrange the Six replacement cards and make sure that each player""s replacement cards come from the correct grouping of cards on the table layout. There are many possible final hand arrangements and the dealer must be sure to analyze each player hand correctly to determine whether it is a winning or losing hand and the poker hand ranking of each winning hand.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a three card poker game that can easily be played in a live table game format. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a three card poker game that can be played quickly and is easily learned with a straightforward player strategy so that the method of play will not be intimidating to even the novice player.
It is a feature of the present invention that each player makes a wager and is dealt three initial cards. Three face down cards are also dealt as community cards. Each player discards none, one, two or all three of his initial cards and replacement cards are provided from the community cards. Winning hands are determined by a pay table and there are only a few possible winning hand endings which makes it easy for the dealer to analyze.
It is an advantage of the present invention that a fast-paced live casino table game is provided. The game is easy to play and easy to deal. The use of the community cards as replacement cards allows the player the opportunity to improve any initially dealt hands that are not good hands.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.
The method of present invention involves the player making a wager to play a three card poker hand. Once the player has made his wager, an initial hand of three cards is dealt to the player. After the player""s hand is dealt, three community cards are dealt face down.
The player looks at his initial three cards and decides which cards to hold and which cards to discard. For each card that is discarded, the player uses the appropriate pre-designated community card as the replacement card. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the community cards are designated as Card #1, Card #2 and Card #3. If the player discards one card, Card #1 is used as the replacement card. If the player discards two cards, Card #1 and Card #2 are used as the replacement cards. If the player discards all three cards, Card #1, Card #2 and Card #3 are used as the replacement cards.
After the player has made his decision as to how many cards he will discard, if any, all of the community cards are turned face up and the outcome of the player""s final three card hand is determined. Winning and losing outcomes are determined based on a pay table showing the winning three card poker hand rankings and winning players are paid based on the amount of the player""s wager.